population

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See also populâtion, and Population

Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Late Latin populatio (a people, multitude), as if a noun of action from Classical Latin populus.

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

population (plural populations)

  1. The people living within a political or geographical boundary
    The population of New Jersey will not stand for this!
  2. A count of the number of residents within a political or geographical boundary such as a town, a nation or the world.
    The town’s population is only 243.
    population explosion
    population growth
  3. (biology) A collection of organisms of a particular species, sharing a particular characteristic of interest, most often that of living in a given area
    A seasonal migration annually changes the populations in two or more biotopes drastically, many twice in opposite senses
  4. (statistics) A group of units (persons, objects, or other items) enumerated in a census or from which a sample is drawn
    • 1883, Francis Galton et al., Final Report of the Anthropometric Committee, Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, p. 269.
      ...it is possible it [the Anglo-Saxon race] might stand second to the Scandinavian countries [in average height] if a fair sample of their population were obtained.
  5. (computing) The act of filling initially empty items in a collection.
    John clicked the Search button and waited for the population of the list to complete.

Related terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

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French [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Borrowed from Late Latin populatio, populationis, from Latin populus.

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

population f (plural populations)

  1. A population

Related terms [edit]